The time has come
by amethyst20003
Summary: Emma has been back from Fairy tale land, and as she is adjusting to having her parents around, Mr. Gold decides it's time to cash in on that favor Emma owes him. Her job? To find Baelfire, Mr. Gold's long lost son. But what Emma does not know is that this favor could turn into an added complication to her already complicated life.
1. Chapter 1- The Deal

**Authors note: **Okay so I've been dealing with a LOT of Once Upon a time muse, courtesy of the wonderful christmas present I received this year. (If you guessed that it was S1 of OUAT on dvd you are correct). Now this is my first dip into the Once Upon a time fan fiction world, so I do beg that you are nice to me if this isn't completely accurate. I am one of those people who ships Emma with like everyone given Jen's awesome chemistry with most of the male leads, so I have no idea who she'll end up with right now. (Probably not Graham because yeah he's gone, even though I wish he wasn't) so we'll see. If anyone shows any interest I'll definitely try to keep this going, but if no one really likes it, I can definitely say I gave it the good old college try. So yeah please read and review. Really I like hearing opinions so please do review. I do apologize if this is OCC, but I tried.

Chapter 1- The Deal

She could hear Snow making breakfast in the kitchen, Henry and Charming had already left for the stables, and that left her alone with her mother. Her mother. That was still so difficult to process, even though it had gotten a little easier after their visit to fairytale land. She thought back to all of their joking about their similarities, and it made sense, she looked like a combination of both of her parents and now she was aware of it. She made her way down the stairs, so that she could help snow make breakfast.

"Morning" Emma said.

"Good morning sweetheart" Snow replied.

It was still weird to hear snow call her sweetheart, and she had been uncomfortable the first few times she had heard her say it but she was slowly getting used to it. She was about to give her a reply when she heard a knock on the door, both mother and daughter threw each other a confused look. Neither of them were expecting anyone, especially when you factored in the fact that Henry and Charming were at the stables right now and they wouldn't knock. Emma was closer to the door, so she made her way towards it and she was surprised to find Mr. Gold standing there.

"Mr. Gold?" Emma said.

"Good morning Miss Swan, I hope I am not interrupting anything" he replied.

Emma turned to look at Snow, who in turn gave her a "No idea what's going on" look. Emma hadn't really spoken to Gold since her return to Storybrooke. She wasn't sure what he would want, or why he wouldn't have just waited for her to arrive at the Sherriff's station later that morning.

"Um, no. Did you need something?" Emma asked.

"If you don't mind" Mr. Gold replied as he made a motion as if asking if it was okay that he come into the apartment.

Emma hesitated for a moment, but decided that Gold was probably here for a reason and allowing him into the apartment would do no harm. She stepped aside, allowing him to come in and as soon as he was inside she closed the door behind him. Snow left the kitchen as she approached the living room, Emma could tell she was curious about Gold's presence in their home.

"So, I repeat. Did you need something?" Emma said.

"Oh yes. I was here to remind you of a deal you made with me, a few months back"

Snow looked alarmed, but Emma was not surprised. She knew that Gold had been waiting for the right moment to cash in the favor she owed him, and she had a feeling it would be no easy task. But she didn't regret owing him a favor, it had allowed Ashley, well Cinderella, to keep her daughter and that had been well worth it.

"I guess that means you are here to cash in the favor I owe you"

"You are correct. Now I'm sure Prince Charming has informed you that if anyone crosses the border of storybrooke, their cursed selves become their only selves"

"Yes, he told us that piece of news"

"Well when you broke the original curse, I was planning a trip to find someone. But with this new curse, I will be unable to make that trip, which is where you come in"

"You want to find someone, and because you can't leave. I have to do it?"

"Yes"

"And who is it that I have to find?"

"My son"

Son. Gold had a son? Well that definitely was news to Emma, and of course it opened up a flurry of questions beginning with where was he? How on earth did he escape the curse? And wasn't Gold over three hundred years old, which meant that his son had to be quite old as well. She turned her attention to Snow who looked equally as surprised with what Mr. Gold had said. That had to mean that this wasn't common knowledge, but still how on earth was she supposed to find this son?

"You have a son"

"Obviously, as I am asking you to locate him"

"And how exactly do you expect me to find this lost son of yours"

"I have my ways, but you are aware that even if you believe that this is a hard task. You owe me a favor, and therefore you must go through with this"

"I am well aware Mr. Gold. Now explain to me how I am supposed to locate this long lost son of yours, and I will gladly drag him back here so you can meet him"

"Emma, can I talk to you please" Snow interjected.

Emma looked over at Snow who was sporting a worried look, and nodded as the two made their way up to Emma's room for some attempt at privacy.

"You can't go through with this Emma" Snow said as soon as they were in her room.

"Go through with what?"

"This. It could be dangerous, you can't trust Gold"

"Snow, I know. But I owe him this favor, and I'd rather he ask me to do this, then ask me to do something worse in the future. I used to find people for a living, I will be fine" Emma said as she tried to soothe her mother.

Snow looked like she wanted to object, but Emma just have looked like she was decided on doing this because she said nothing. The two made their way back down the stairs, and Snow went into the kitchen to resume preparing breakfast while Emma approached Gold once more.

"Meet me at my shop at noon today. It should give you enough time to pack a bag for the trip"

"And where exactly am I going?" Emma asked.

"New York" Mr. Gold replied, and with that he turned and headed towards the door, leaving a confused Emma behind.


	2. Chapter 2- Goodbyes

**Authors note: **Oh my god guys I'm so beyond flattered at all the follows this story has been getting. Especially the few reviews I have received. I thank all of you for this, it definitely gives me a boost in at least knowing that I'm not completely butchering the characters right now. But anyway I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and please read and review. Like I said before, I love reading your reviews, it gives me all of the encouragement in the world. I apologize if this seems like a filler chapter, we'll get to the good stuff next chapter I promise.

Chapter 2- Goodbyes.

"I should be back in a few days" Emma said, trying to assure her mother who was currently hovering behind her.

Emma was packing essential things, the sooner she found Gold's son, the sooner she could return to Storybrooke, free of owing him any favors. She just hoped that finding his son wouldn't be too large of an ordeal and that he would willingly come with her. Even though she was seriously doubting the latter because she was pretty sure there was a reason Gold's son was not with him. She finally grabbed the last of the things she would need, and she made her way towards the kitchen to grab her keys while Snow trailed after her.

"Please take care of yourself, and call when you get there" Snow said.

"I'll be fine, mom" she said the last word with a bit of difficulty, "Just breathe, I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself"

At those words, Snow pulled her into a hug, which Emma returned without hesitation. She might have issues calling her mom out loud, and sometimes in her head, but she knew that Snow loved her more than anything else. After a few more seconds of the hug, she disentangled herself from her mother, giving her a smile and heading out the door. She was heading to the sheriff station first, and she had to say goodbye to Henry as well, which was why she was packing now instead of later.

She grabbed a coffee at Granny's before heading towards the station, it was alone because Charming was still at the stables with Henry. She decided to get started on the piles of paperwork she had to do, even though she was sure there would never _not_be paperwork. She was about halfway done with a file on some of the damage the wraith had inflicted on the town when she heard footsteps, checking the time she saw that it was almost eight thirty which meant that it was Charming coming back from the stables.

"Morning" he called out.

"Morning" she said as she gave him a little wave from her office.

"So, you are leaving?" He asked.

"Snow told you?"

"Yes, she told me before she left for school. Were you planning on informing me, and Henry?"

"Of course, but I didn't want to bother you two while you were at the stables, and there's so much paperwork that I have left to do. So I thought I'd try and do that, while I waited for you to get here, and so I could tell you what is important, and what's not. That way you can do it while I'm gone"

"Oh what fun" he said, "Emma, are you sure you can trust him?"

"It should be fine, I'll do this favor for Gold, and then he can't ask for anything else. If you think about it, this is a rather safe favor, he could have asked for something worse"

Charming looked thoughtful for a little bit, and then nodded, accepting her answer. In reality Emma had expected something far worse from Mr. Gold, but this seemed like a straightforward thing. She was good at finding people, there was a reason she used to be a bail bonds person. She really wasn't too worried about this, in her mind it would hopefully be quick and then everything could return to somewhat normal. Well as normal as a town full of fairy tale characters could get.

That was the end of their conversation, and they began to work for a while, by the time ten thirty came around, Emma decided to drop by the school to say a quick goodbye to Henry, and then she'd head back to Mr. Gold's shop. The kids were all out having recess, and when Henry spotted her he stopped what he was doing and headed towards her.

"Hey kid" she said.

"Mom, what's going on? Is someone hurt?"

"Oh no. I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving town, for a little bit" Henry looked alarmed but Emma put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry I'm coming back. I'm doing this as a favor to Mr. Gold"

"Because you owe him that favor, because of what you did for Cinderella and her baby"

"Exactly, I'm supposed to find his son. He already knows where he is, so my job is just to locate him and bring him here with me. So I shouldn't be gone long"

"I can help you, I have the book"

"Henry, I know but I want you to stay safe, with your grandparents and with Regina. And I don't want you to miss anymore school. So you can't come with me"

"But'

"No Henry, you need to stay here. Plus who else is going to take care of your horse while you are away. What if it finally decides to let you ride him, and you aren't there" '

Henry looked thoughtful, and gave her a nod. At least she didn't have to worry about Henry possibly getting into trouble before she left. He gave her a hug, and she gave him a squeeze in return before she kissed his forehead.

"All right Kid, be good. Eat all of your vegetables and all of that"

Henry rolled his eyes and with one last hug she ushered him back towards his friends. When he resumed playing she headed towards her car, she had enough time to grab some lunch before heading to Gold's pawn shop for the rest of the information on his son. She drove to Granny's ordered a grilled cheese, and ate it on the way to Gold's shop. She found herself idling a little once she got there, but deciding that she needed to get it over with, she got out of her little yellow bug and made her way into the shop.


	3. Chapter 3- Road Trip

**Authors note: **Once again thank you to everyone who is following, reviewing and just honestly giving me encouragement to continue this story. I've always second guessed myself when it comes to my writing, and you guys enjoying this fic definitely helps me want to continue writing it. As for who Emma is going to end up with, sadly it can't be Mr. Gold because I'm a huuge Rumpbelle shipper and I see and Emma as more of a I tolerate you, you tolerate me type of relationship, at least in my head. I'm still not sure about Bae's identity, I know who I want it to be and I'm pretty sure I'm right, but I'll see how I feel when we get to that chapter. But yeah so I realized my version of how Gold asks Emma is off, given the new promo, but given that new promo I'll be adding tidbits of that into the future chapters if I can. Anyway I hope you all have a Happy New Years Eve, (or Day depending on where you are) don't forget to Review.

Chapter 3- Road trip

The little bell at the door rang as Emma pushed open the door, she never realized how irritating she found that bell until that very second. Still she didn't focus on that at the moment, she just needed to collect the information from Gold, and then she'd be on her way to going through with that favor. She found Mr. Gold in his office, and he was wearing the oddest thing. It resembled a scarf, and it was gold but it wasn't something she thought she would see him wearing.

"Nice scarf" she commented.

"This" he said as he touched the scarf, "Is not a scarf Miss Swan. This is the Golden Fleece, and it is what will allow me to leave Storybrooke with my memories intact"

"So if you found a way to keep your memories, why ask me to go find your son?" Emma asked.

"Even though I have most of the information on the whereabouts of my son, I think it is of vital importance to have someone else with me. Just to make sure that he reacts appropriately"

"What does that mean exactly?"

"Don't fret dearie, all that matters is that we find my boy"

Emma glared at him, this trip as becoming a bigger pain the more she thought about it. Still she knew that they needed to get this over with, and it would be easier to locate Gold's son if Gold was actually with her, because honestly she didn't even know where to begin.

"Okay so you know he's in New York, but you are aware of the fact that New York is a rather large place. It could take us weeks to find him"

"That's where magic comes in"

"Wait, what?"

"I have kept some relics from before my son disappeared, and I can perform a spell in which the object will lead us to my son"

"Really?"

"Yes, the very same spell that allowed your father to find your mother while she was under the sleeping curse"

"WHAT?"

"Yes Miss Swan, your mother's ring it was enchanted to glow the closer it got to your mother. Did you not read your boy's book?"

Emma rolled her eyes, she had been getting that answer for days. Of course she hadn't read Henry's entire book, she had skimmed it. But up until a few weeks ago it had all been stories to her. Now every time someone said that to her, it made her want to scream. But she chose to say nothing just because she didn't want to elaborate as to why she hadn't read the whole book.

"I skimmed it, but it doesn't matter, just show me the thing so we can get moving. It is an eight hour drive there"

"Well then, I will explain to you what's going to happen on our way there"

Emma just turned around and walked back to the car so that he could lock up. She would be stuck in a car with Gold for eight hours to arrive in New York, and then god knows how long until she located his son, and then it would be another eight hour ride back to Storybrooke. She was beginning to wonder if maybe this was as harmless a favor as she had previously thought. She went into her car, and she only had to wait a few seconds for Gold to finally join her.

"Are you sure that scarf is going to work?"

"Yes Miss Swan, I have already tested it out. Now please drive"

"All right bossy pants"

With those words, Emma turned on her car and she headed towards the exit of Storybrooke. It felt weird, leaving after basically living in the place for a year, but this time she knew that she wasn't leaving for good. She would be back, she would return for her parents, and her son because no matter how twisted the town was, it was finally home for her. In a matter of minutes they were down the familiar road that led out of Storybrooke, and she tried not to think about how uncomfortable this car ride was going to be because then she was sure it was going to feel like an eternity and not eight hours.

"So who else knows you have a son? I mean given the reaction from Snow, it doesn't seem like it was common knowledge"

"You forget Miss Swan, that I have lived many years, when I gained my powers I also became ageless. My son was with me before I gained those powers, and he left me short after I did"

"And how long ago was that?"

"About three hundred years, give or take a decade"

"I'm sorry what? How the hell is your kid even still alive?"

"When my son traveled to this land, he traveled through space and _time _meaning that he arrived in the not so distant past"

"How is that even logical? I mean the curse brought you all here when I was a baby, Yet however the hell your son got here, he traveled through time? Please"

"I am not aware of how the magic bean worked Miss Swan, I could be mistaken. But I am pretty sure I am not"

Emma really found it rather hard to believe, after all how on earth could Gold's son have traveled through time and space, while the curse immediately took them to a point in time. But maybe she was just not seeing it, because obviously Gold had understood it enough to actually find a location of his son. She decided not to ask any more questions because she was sure that they would result in even more confusing answers. They rode in silence for another twenty minutes, and Emma was just about to open her mouth when she heard a voice and saw a familiar mop of brown hair pop up from her backseat.

"This is going to be a really long trip if you guys are just going to be quiet the whole time"


	4. Chapter 4- Manhattan

**Authors note: **Wow guys, just wow. You guys KEEP BLOWING MY MIND. I am so honored with all the follows and the favorites and the reviews. I am so glad that you guys seem to be enjoying this fic, and I am enjoying writing it for all of you. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it'll be a bit longer than usual, but that's my goal to make it longer. Don't forget to read and review, love you all xxx

Chapter 4- Manhattan

Emma almost hit the brakes at the sound of that voice, really hadn't she told him to stay there. There were so many thoughts going through her mind at the moment, they were already at least an hour away from Storybrooke, and going back and then driving all the way to New York would end up taking more time. Plus that action reminded him so much of his father, she could still remember the day she stole that car and he did the same exact thing. But she pushed the thoughts aside as she looked at her son through the rearview window.

"Kid what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to come along, and you said I should stay there. But I can help. I have the book"

As if to prove a point he pulled out his book and started combing through the pages as if he was searching for something in particular. He made a little noise of triumph as he turned the book towards them and Emma saw that there was a picture of a young boy, and someone who really resembled Mr. Gold.

"See, Rumplestilksin and his son"

"Henry, that still doesn't mean that it is okay for you to sneak into the backseat after I told you to stay with your grandparents. Speaking of which, what did you tell your grandmother for her to even allow you to leave school?"

"I snuck out after recess, I left her a note at home saying that I wanted to help. Gramps was still at the station so the apartment was empty"

"Oh god, Henry" Emma said as she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't want to be left behind. I want to help!"

Emma let out a small sigh, and she threw a glance at Mr. Gold who looked somewhat amused by the whole situation. It wasn't like she was going to send Henry back now, all she had to do was call Snow and Charming, and probably Regina who was going to kill her as soon as they returned.

"Okay you are obviously coming with us now. But you have to call your grandparents, and Regina and tell them what you did" she said as she dug around her pocket for her phone.

When she located it, she handed it to Henry and continued driving, she heard Henry dialing the station first, and telling Charming, then he moved on to Snow, and finally Regina. Emma could only guess she was the least happy, and she was also pretty certain she would be hearing from her as soon as they returned. Emma only hoped that this didn't cause even more issues, things had been somewhat normal between them since Snow and Emma's return from fairy tale land, and this could cause a major setback.

Henry handed back the phone, as they continued down the path. He began making small talk with Mr. Gold, while Emma just tried to focus on the road. About halfway to New York, Henry started to complain that he was hungry. Emma didn't blame him, it was four and this was usually the time he had some sort of snack after school, if he would have remained in Storybrooke that wouldn't have been a problem. But she didn't tell him that, she just pulled over at the first food place that they saw.

Once they ate something, they settled in for the remaining four hours of the trip. She knew that they were going to get there after dark, which meant they would probably end up having to sleep somewhere in New York. She had informed Gold that she was not driving into New York. The traffic was horrible and she did not wish to get lost in the confusing city. He agreed, and they continued down the road. By the time they got to New York, Henry was fast asleep in the backseat of the car. It seemed like after eating, he had just konked out which left her and Gold to have a four hour car ride of silence. Man she hoped it wouldn't be this awkward on the ride back, but knowing her luck it would be about a million times worse.

She parked in a little motel in Riverdale, that was technically still Manhattan but Emma had a feeling that they were not going to find Gold's son in outer New York. She woke Henry up, and told him that they were going to rest for a while, because they would have a very long day ahead of them. They checked in, and went to sleep, even though Emma was uneasy about sleeping away from Storybrooke, she at least had Henry with her.

The next morning, she woke up around eight am, and she decided to let Henry sleep a little bit as she showered and got ready. It was pretty cold, and of course she realized that she had not chosen the best clothes to wear, she hadn't had a chance to do laundry so all she had was that skirt that she rarely wore. Luckily she had leggings and her boots so hopefully that would keep her warm enough. By the time she was finished getting ready, Henry was awake and alert.

"Hey there sleepy head, how did you sleep?" she asked.

"Good, no nightmares" he said, "Time to shower"

She had been worried about him possibly having nightmares, but he hadn't seemed to be having bad dreams last night. She had made sure that he was having peaceful dreams before she herself had settled into sleep herself. She watched him as he took the clothes out of his backpack, which she was surprised he had, but he had probably had enough time to pack things and get to Gold's shop in the time she ate lunch and went to meet him. She shook her head, as she took a seat on the bed as he hopped in the shower, and she found herself grabbing his book. She was curious about the pages he had shown her yesterday; sure enough there were a few of them dedicated to Gold and his son. She found herself entranced, the boy looked familiar, but she wasn't sure why. She became so immersed in her thoughts that she missed when Henry came back, until he hopped on the bed next to her.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"He just looks familiar for some reason"

"He does, doesn't he. I was thinking the same thing, but I know he isn't in Storybrooke, he was gone before the curse was enacted"

"Hmm, maybe you've just been looking at this book too much, kid" she said with a laugh.

"Maybe" he said.

It was then that they heard a knock, which they assumed to be Mr. Gold. They left their stuff there, they would be coming back for them, and for the bug so that they could head back to Storybrooke. They walked to the door, greeted Gold and he handed her a piece of cloth and at first she was confused.

"What is this?"

"That, Miss Swan, is a piece of my son's cloak" he said.

"And this is going to help us how?"

"Like I mentioned before, I have a locator spell that will allow us to find him, and therefore you need to hold it. It will glow, maybe even move when we get to his approximate location"

"Why do I need to hold it?"

"Miss Swan, just follow my directions. There is a cab waiting for us outside, it will take us to the heart of Manhattan, and then we can begin our search"

Emma rolled her eyes, as she and Henry stalked towards the waiting cab and they settled in for a rather long day. Emma was staring to regret not having breakfast. It was only supposed to be a twenty minute drive to the center of Manhattan, but given the horrid traffic it actually ended up being an hour. Emma was tired of sitting in the car, and she gladly slid out as Mr. Gold paid the cabby. She and Henry looked around, she had no idea where to start.

"I'm kind of hungry" Henry commented.

"Me too kid, let's see if we can convince Gold to let us grab a pastry somewhere so that we will at least last until lunch, how's that sound?"

"Great"

Emma told Gold, and he nodded knowing that he had ushered them out of the motel rather quickly. They spotted a bakery, and Emma and Henry along with Mr. Gold went in to grab a pastry and something to drink, they got Henry hot chocolate while she and Gold got coffee. Once they were satisfied, Emma pulled out the piece of cloth that Gold had given her.

"Okay so what am I supposed to do, walk around with this thing in my hand until it starts glowing?"

"Correct Miss Swan"

"Ridiculous" she said with an eye roll.

Henry took her free hand, and she started to look down at the stupid piece of cloth, willing it to glow so that they could go back home. They spent hours looking, and they stopped for lunch, but still the stupid piece of cloth would not glow. She asked Gold if he was sure it would work, and he claimed that he was positive. This only further frustrated Emma because at least he could have used a map so that they wouldn't have to walk around ALL of Manhattan trying to find his long lost son. By the time they stopped for lunch, Emma really was starting to think that this was a lost cause.

"I really am starting to think that your charm thingy did not work. This thing has not glowed at all, and we've covered a lot of ground" Emma said as she took a bite of her sandwhich.

"Maybe we should go to the motel again? Call my mom, maybe she can help" Henry said.

"I don't think your mother will want to help me Henry, but maybe we need to go take a break, we can try again tomorrow" Mr. Gold said.

Emma could see that he obviously didn't want to stop, so she compromised, if they hadn't found him by three, then they would go back to the motel and try again in the morning. Emma hoped that they'd find something, even a bit of glow from the cloth but nothing. Defeated the trip hailed a cab and then made their way back to the hotel, once again there was an insane amount of traffic, and they were only about halfway to their motel when the cloth started to do something weird, it started to move.

"What the?" Emma said as she looked down.

The cloth was moving towards the door, luckily the cabby was too busy fighting with the traffic to notice what was going on. She looked over at Henry and Mr. Gold, both who were entranced, and finally Emma told the cabby that they were getting off right there, and then Gold paid him. Emma took a firm hold of the cloth so it wouldn't fly away. She could feel it tugging, and she looked around at the sea of people, but didn't' seem like Baelfire was around here anywhere. Emma let herself be guided to wherever the son was. Soon enough she was led to an apartment building, and she looked up, well this was going to take ages. The piece of cloak continued to try and get away from her, and she tried to keep a firm hold on it.

"So I guess this is it?" Emma said.

Emma was about to tell Gold if there was a way to get the stupid thing to stop trying to pull her into the building because the door was locked when the thing changed direction. She lost her grasp on it for a second and the thing zoomed through the air and it hit a figure in a hoodie. Emma looked towards the person, and Mr. Gold was the first to speak.

"Bae?" Gold said.

"Crap" she heard the voice say, before the person bolted, leaving all three of them staring after him.

Emma took a few seconds to recover, but she realized he was getting away. Crap he was getting away.

"Look after Henry!" she said as she ran after Gold's son, he was fast, but luckily her time as Sheriff had not made her speed disappear, and she chased after him.

"Hey wait!" she called after him, but he wasn't stopping.

He almost hit a cab, trying to cross the street, and when she did the same, she almost got hit as well. Damn cabs, they need to be careful. But she couldn't let that slow her down, she was almost there, almost catching him. She was almost catching him and when she delivered him to Gold, she would owe him nothing. He ran into an alleyway, and from what she could see, there was no way out. He seemed to realize that, because he stopped and she took that moment to tackle him.

"Got you" she said, a little breathless as they both hit the floor.

But the moment he turned around, well that was when she realized that maybe she never should have agreed to this.


	5. Chapter 5- Reunion

**Authors note: **You guys are all so smart, obviously it's Neal. I am like..way too certain of him being Bae that I just had to make it him. I was iffy at first, but heey we won't know until we see the episode (in February, soo far away :() and if I'm incorrect, welll oh well I still love Neal because (as I saw on tumblr) he's one of the few who didn't really want anything FROM Emma. He just wanted what was best for her (I'm sure Graham did too, but we all know his fate :( ) Anywhoo I've had this total discussion with people from the tumblr rp group that i'm on, where we full on discussed who Bae was, and let's just say my opinion is not the popular one, but who cares they are awesome people anyway. But yes I hope you do enjoy this chapter. Please Read and Review 3 I love to hear your thoughts.

Chapter 5- Reunion

"Emma?" he asked.

Neal?" she said as she quickly got up.

She wanted as much space between the two of them now, this was not what she had signed up for. What kind of twisted form of fate was this? How the hell was the father of her child, the person who had managed to get her sent to prison for eleven months for a crime he committed, actually Mr. Gold's son.

"What were you doing with _him?_" he asked.

"With who? Gold?"

"Is that what he's calling himself now?"

"I didn't catch you, do you understand? I didn't catch you, and that's it. Goodbye"

She really didn't need this right now, the last thing she wanted was to see him right now. She was having enough issues not slapping the hell out of him over what he did to her. But no, this was not about her right now, she had found Gold's son, if he didn't want any contact, well that wasn't her problem. As far as she was concerned, she had kept up her end of the bargain and she no longer owed Gold anything. She turned around and began to make her way out of the alley, but she felt someone grab her arm. Damn it, she thought he'd let her walk away. Before she was even aware of what she was doing, her free hand was raised and there was a definite smack that resonated in the air.

"Do NOT touch me" she said as she tried to get her arm out of his grasp.

"Emma, please. We have to talk about this" He said, and she didn't look up at him.

"Let me go Neal, or this time it won't be a slap to the face" she threatened.

He seemed to understand that she wasn't joking around, and she felt better when he let go but the bubbling emotions that were growing within her were threatening to get to her. No, he was not allowed to affect her like this. She just needed to walk away, and pretend that she never saw Neal Cassidy. In her mind, there were no explanations for what he had done, nothing could be resolved.

"Emma please, we need to talk about this"

"Talk about what? How you abandoned me, left me with one of YOUR stolen watches and let me take the blame. I got eleven months Neal. Eleven months in prison over something YOU did. You left me, and all you bothered to leave was keys to a stupid car"

"Emma, I was trying to protect you. I was trying to do right by you"

"How is leaving me to get arrested, doing right by me Neal? How the hell does that make any sense?"

"But he told me to do it!"

"He, what the hell are you talking about?"

"August"

"August? As in August W. Booth?"

"Yes he caught up to me, after I left the car. He showed me something, and told me you had to break a curse, that I needed to leave you so that you would be ready. That he was going to keep an eye on you. He told me to stay away, and that he'd let me know when I could find you again"

"And you believed him? You believed some random stranger that your girlfriend had to break some magical curse, and that the only way that would be accomplished would be to let her go to jail?"

"I know it sounds stupid Emma, but I just knew he was telling the truth. He showed me this book, and it had a picture, of my father's dagger"

"This is so stupid. You are an idiot. Do you know what I went through? What I had to give up because of what you did?" her voice cracked then, and Emma knew she was on the verge of tears.

This was not fair, she was not supposed to deal with this. She was not supposed to deal with finding Neal Cassidy when she was supposed to be looking for Mr. Gold's son. She was not supposed to find out that the father of her child was related to Gold. She was not supposed to find out that he had put her in jail because of the stupid curse. That curse, the one she had broken, the curse that had ruined her life. The only good thing out of this whole situation had been Henry. Henry. She had left him with Gold, Neal couldn't know about Henry. He didn't deserve to know about Henry.

"Emma, I'm sorry. I thought that with the car, and the money, it would at least help you get settled after they let you out"

"Money?"

"The twenty thousand I gave to August, from the watches. I told him to send them to you with the keys to the bug. He promised he'd do it"

Emma let out a laugh, "I never got the money Neal. Do you want to know why? Because you let Pinocchio have twenty thousand dollars. And do you want to know what he did with that money? He went and travelled all around the world, the only thing he left me was the car, and that was difficult to find given that he didn't even bother to bring it to freaking Arizona"

"He didn't give you the money? That bastard, Emma I'm so sorry, I didn't know"

"Just forget it Neal, I'm done having this conversation. I'm leaving now, if you want to talk to your father. Go right ahead. But you, stay as far away from me as possible"

With those words she made her way back to where they had found him, she needed to get Henry, and they needed to go back to the motel. Then they would have to head back to Storybrooke, because there was no way she was staying in Manhattan any longer than she had to. She finally spotted Gold and Henry about halfway where she had left them, they had obviously followed her. Henry ran up to her when he noticed her somewhat distraught face and gave her a hug, which she accepted gladly, she needed something good.

"I couldn't catch him, I'm sorry" she lied.

"Well, at least we know where he lives, thank you Miss Swan"

"My debt?"

"Paid, Miss Swan. You located my son, that was our deal, I'm just sorry that you couldn't reach him" Mr. Gold said.

Emma could hear the disappointment in his voice and she did feel a little sorry for him. But not that much, she was beginning to make connections between the stories that Neal used to tell her about his father, and Mr. Gold. He seemed to rely on magic like a crutch, and well from what she had observed about Regina, magic tended to push people away. Maybe that's how Neal had ended up in this world, his father pushed him away with his magic. She took hold of Henry's hand, and she tried to look around for a cab, but she couldn't see any of them.

"Crap, I guess we have to walk back to where we were originally, that's where all the traffic was" Emma said.

Mr. Gold nodded and they started to walk towards the street where they came from, but then they heard footsteps and they all turned around. Emma tried to ignore that little jolt in her stomach at seeing him, he was going to face his father, but why?

"I'm not letting you leave, Emma"

"This isn't about us Neal, this is about you and your father. Don't think that just because you happened to be the person I was looking for, means anything, it was just a coincidence"

"Bae" Mr. Gold walked toward Neal, and Emma saw him flinch and back away.

"No, I don't want to talk to you, I want to talk to Emma"

"Well I'm sorry to say, I don't want to talk to you"

With those words, she and Henry continued to walk down the street but she noticed that Henry kept on looking back at him. He was obviously curious as to how she knew Mr. Gold's son, and what their history was. She was mentally preparing herself for the inquisition she was going to undergo as soon as he decided he wanted to ask. But she wasn't ready, she didn't want to tell him that she lied, she didn't want him to hate her because she told him his father was dead. But she had wanted him to think his father was honorable, not some thief who managed to land her in jail. Henry deserved better than that, he deserved to think his father was a hero.

"How do you know Mr. Gold's son?" He asked after a few more seconds of silence.

"I knew him a long time ago" she replied.

"He looked like he really wanted to talk to you, why didn't you want to talk to him" he asked.

She stopped, and she bent down a little to look him in the eyes. Her kid, he had grown so much in the year, he was almost at her shoulder now, and soon enough he'd probably be taller than her. Really why on earth did she ever think she didn't want him in her life, he was probably one of the few things that made her completely happy. The only good thing that she could actually say came from the horrible life she had lived.

"Look kid, you know that I love you right?" he nodded, "But I really don't want to talk about this right now, I don't think I'm ready. Is that okay with you?"

Henry nodded once more, and gave her a smile, and she smiled back. That would appease him for a little bit, and she could decide what to do. She trusted that Gold would find his way back to the motel, so she and Henry grabbed the first cab they found and headed back. She hoped that they could be leaving for Storybrooke again tonight, then they would be there by morning and this whole nightmare could come to an end.

**Authors Note #2** What's that, look she has another note. What does it say? Haha Well I wanted to write up the Neal/Gold reunion, but Emma is being spunky and is not letting Neal into my head very much. Maybe she'll cooperate, if not you guys might have to use your imaginations. Either way I promise this is not the end of Neal, I promise 3 I hope you enjoyed.


	6. Chapter 6- Explanations

**Authors note:**Oh look she wrote another one! Yeah I was just bubbling with muse, so I decided why not bust out the next chapter. It's kind of a filler, but I do hope the beginning part is okay. I really wasn't sure how to make him react, and well you'll see. I hope you all like it, really I just hope you really like it haha. But anywhoo please read and review and let me

Chapter 6- Explanations

"I have to go after her" Neal said, trying to ignore the presence before him.

"Based on her reactions, son, she does not want to see you" Mr. Gold commented calmly.

"Damn it, why the hell did you have to come find me? And why send her?"

"I was unaware of any history you had with Miss Swan. Speaking of which, would you care to tell me how you know her?"

"She, and I. Just know that I love her, all right. Not that it's any of your business"

"And why would my son being in love, not be any of my business"

"I stopped being your son the moment you backed out of our deal you coward. You said you'd give up magic for me, but given the fact that _this_" he said as he thrust the cloak piece at him, "Hit me, it's obvious that you found some way to bring magic here"

"To find you Bae, all of this was to find you. I regretted my actions as soon as you left. I wanted to come with you. But the Blue fairy said there was no way, no way I could get to you" he said, "So I worked hard, I tried to find every single object that could possibly bring me to this place. But nothing worked, until I found a way to create the curse"

"You created the curse? It's because of you that I had to abandon Emma?!" he yelled, "You are responsible for making me lose the thing I loved most in this miserable existence?!"

"I'm so sorry son"

"I am NOT your son, my name is NOT Baelfire. I am Neal, Neal Cassady, and you need to tell me where Emma went, because I am not letting her go this time"

"It was obvious she wants nothing to do with you, and as I am sure you know. Miss Swan is a very stubborn woman"

"I don't care, I need her to understand that I did all of it because I loved her, and because I listened to that idiot August. I need her to at least forgive me, if nothing else"

"May I suggest that you let her cool off, she will not be letting you anywhere near her at the present moment"

"Aren't you going to go back to wherever the hell you are supposed to be?"

"Storybrooke, it's in Maine" Mr. Gold said, "We will be returning in the morning. It is your choice if you wish to follow us there, but given how desperately you seem to want to give her an explanation, I would recommend you doing just that. And with that, I leave you, but not without telling you that I am truly sorry son, and that I love you"

Mr. Gold began to make his way back towards the street to find a cab so that he too could return to the motel. But he understood, why Miss Swan had reacted the way that she had, it was obvious to him that Baelfire, Neal as he had named himself, was Henry's father, meaning that he was Henry's grandfather. A smile crept on his lips at the thought of that, he had a grandson.

Neal watched as that man, because he was not going to refer to him as his father, walked away and left him alone to think. Would he risk dealing with him on a daily basis just to explain to Emma? Neal knew the answer to that, and it was yes. He needed to get Emma to forgive him, he needed to hope that she still felt for him as he felt for her. Even after eleven years of being apart, he loved her, and he needed her in his life, no matter the consequences.

Back at the motel, Emma and Henry were settling into their room with food and watching television. Emma could tell that Henry was curious, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to open that can of worms. She knew she had to tell Henry the truth, he had seen Neal and he was a smart kid, he would make a connection somehow. Maybe not that Neal was his father, but that he was a past boyfriend of hers, and therefore she would have to explain. She was afraid though, afraid of his reaction, and of him wanting to go find Neal because they were in the city. When they finished up their dinner, they threw everything in the trash and Henry gave her a look, which meant that he was going to ask.

"All right kid, ask. I know you want to" Emma said with an affectionate smile.

"So he knew you, but from where?"

"When I got out of the foster system, I, and I am in no way condoning this, broke into a car" she admitted, "And he happened to be in it"

"Wait you broke into his car?" Henry asked.

"Well it turns out that it wasn't his car either, I stole a stolen car. That's horrible, please never do anything like that" she said.

"Of course not, but that's something you had in common with Grandma, she stole too"

"What?"

"It's in the book, before she met Gramps, she used to steal from my mom, while she was still on the run. So it's kind of in your genes"

"Oh god kid don't say that, because we don't want _you_ doing stuff like that"

"I won't, but keep going"

"Well it was just so weird, and I had never met anyone like him, he was charming and he understood me like no one else did, and well we" she trailed off.

"Fell in love" Henry stated.

"Yeah I guess we did" she said

"And then what happened?"

"Well he had stolen some watches in Arizona, and they were looking for him. He left them in a locker in Portland, and o I told him I'd get the watches for him. Then we'd sell them and just disappear and get new identities" she trailed off, the memories hitting her like a bucket of ice water, "But he betrayed me, after I got the watches for him, he let me keep one. I was supposed to wait for him in a certain place, and he called in a tip, and the cops found me and they arrested me"

"Wait, he got you arrested?"

Emma could tell that he was putting it together, and she hoped that he wasn't going to hate her for lying to him. She just didn't want him knowing what his father had done, it was bad enough that he knew that he had been born in jail. But he didn't need to know that his father had been the one to put her in jail. But it was too late now, and she could see the realization in his eyes.

"He's my dad isn't he?"

Emma let out a sigh and nodded, "Yes. I didn't want you to know what he did to me. I didn't want you to know how he hurt me Henry. I wanted you to think that your father was a hero, not some petty thief"

"But why did you lie to me, why couldn't you just tell me the truth. I could have handled it"

"I know kid, but I was so afraid you would be disappointed, I wanted to give you at least one good parent. A parent that had done good things in his life, and I didn't want you to know that he was the reason I couldn't keep you"

"I had a feeling you were lying to me then, when you told me that story. I just didn't want to ask you about it because I had a feeling he was one of the reasons you had that wall up" he said, "That wall that you didn't let anyone go through"

"So you don't hate me?" Emma asked, relief coloring her voice.

"No of course not, you are my mom, I could never hate you" He said, "But no more lies, ever"

"Promise kid" she said as she pulled him into a hug, "I promise"


	7. Chapter 7- Surprise!

**Authors note:** Aww come on friends, let's be nice to Neal. Haha I swear I didn't have him act that way for you all to hate him. But form my experience, sometimes when a kid develops resentment for a parent, it really takes a little more than a single apology to make everything better. I think he just reacted that way because he always thought that the curse was just something that Emma had to do with, and once that was done she could be happy with him, so it does kinda hurt that his dad was responsible for that. So let's not be too hard on Neal (lol maybe that's just me because I love him). Anywhoo here is the next chapter, I hope you all like it. It's kind of short and sucky, next one will rock.

Chapter 7- Surprise!

There was a knock on the door, and Emma blinked a few times. What was going on? They had fallen asleep after she had told Henry the truth. But when she turned to look at the spot next to her, it was empty. She panicked, where was Henry? She looked at the clock, it was midnight, where was her kid at midnight. Panic started to seep in, what was she going to do? Just as all of these thoughts were rushing through her head, there was another knock on the door.

"Miss Swan?"

Emma bolted to the door, and when she opened it, it was Mr. Gold, and thankfully Henry was with him. She felt a huge weight off her shoulders, but she was also mad at Henry for leaving the room.

"Henry, where did you go? I was about ready to have a panic attack!" she scolded.

"I caught him trying to sneak out of the motel" Mr. Gold said calmly.

"Henry?"

"I wasn't going to be gone long, I was just going to go find him, talk to him"

"Kid, this isn't Storybrooke, you can't just leave in the middle of the night it could be dangerous" she said as she pulled him into a hug.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to talk to him for a little"

"Kid, I don't think that's a good idea. He's made it clear he wants nothing to do with Mr. Gold, and so, we are going back home in the morning"

"It's true Henry, we should return to Storybrooke"

Henry looked a little disappointed, and Emma knew that he wished that he could go talk to Neal. But it would have been pretty difficult to explain why he was there, and Emma wasn't ready to let Neal know he had a son. She just wanted out of Manhattan, and to go back home. She looked up at Mr. Gold, for the first time grateful that he was there.

"Thank you, for making sure he was okay"

"It was the least I could do Miss Swan. Now if you'll excuse me I will retire for the night. I think we can leave around six am tomorrow, and arrive at Storybrooke at a decent hour?"

"That sounds like a plan" she said as she closed the door.

"Please promise you won't leave again" she said.

"I just want to know him, mom" Henry said.

"I know kid, but I just don't know if he's ready. How about I make you a deal. We go back home, and then we'll write him a letter, you got the address off the building we found him outside of, right?"

When Henry nodded, she smiled, "Well we'll write him a letter, and then see what happens. Does that sound good?"

Emma wasn't sure if the letter would get to Neal, given they didn't have the apartment number, but maybe it would. She didn't want to deny Henry the possibility of knowing his father, but she wasn't ready to face him, or to tell him the truth. It was bad enough that Neal had betrayed her, but he had also left her pregnant and even though she couldn't imagine life without Henry now, she didn't want him to know just yet. When Henry nodded she smiled and ushered him to bed, and then she settled in for the night herself.

Five hours later, her alarm went off, she quickly shut it off so that she wouldn't wake Henry. She was still a little bleary eyed, she would definitely need coffee to drive all the way to Storybrooke on only six hours of sleep. But it didn't matter, they were going to go home today. She got out of the shower and was dressed by five thirty, and it was then that she heard a soft knock at the door, not wanting to wake Henry up she tiptoed to the door and opened the door to find the last person she expected to be standing there.

"Neal? What the hell are you doing here?" she mentally cursed herself, they had been so close.

"I wanted to talk to you before you left, he told me you were leaving this morning"

"Neal, it's too damn early to deal with this crap" she said.

"Mom?" she heard a groggy voice, "Is that Mr. Gold? Do you think he'll let us stop for breakfast before we go back home"

_Damn it_ she thought, as she looked over at a bleary eyed Henry who was rubbing at his eyes. Well so much for the letter idea.

"You have a kid?!" Neal asked.

"Yeah, Henry is my kid"

"But he looks like he's what, eleven. How can you..oh" it seemed like he made the connection.

With a sigh she pushed open the door the rest of the way, making it clear that he could come back in. It wasn't like she was going to get rid of him now, and Henry was going to get his wish.

"Hey kid, why don't you jump in the shower? And then when Mr. Gold comes, we'll talk to him about taking you to breakfast, while Neal and I talk a little?"

"Okay" he said, as he jumped from the bed and ran to the bathroom.

"He's, ours?"

"Yeah"

"But when, how? I mean" he seemed at a loss for words.

"I can't tell you when, but you don't need me to explain how it happened" she said pointedly.

"Emma, if I would have known, I would have told August to go to hell. I never would have abandoned you, or our baby"

"Right"

"You have to believe me, I thought I was doing what was best for you. August told me that this was best for you. I'm such an idiot"

"Well that's something we can both agree on"

There was a knock on the door again, and she could only guess that it was Mr. Gold. He was about to open his mouth when he noticed that Neal was in the room, but Emma shook her head. She really didn't need to be in the middle of a shouting match between Neal and Gold, she had enough problems already.

"Would you mind taking Henry to breakfast? He's in the shower right now, but he should be out in a few minutes. I don't' want him being hungry half the way back home"

"Yes, I'll just wait for him out here, do send the boy out when he is ready. And I'll bring you something as well"

"Thank you"

It was then that Henry bounded out of the bathroom, fully clothed and his hair completely wet. Emma shook her head as she reached for a towel to dry off his hair a little, the last thing she needed was for him to go outside so early in the morning and catch a cold. Not only would she have a sick kid, but she'd also have to deal with the wrath of Regina.

"I'll see you in a bit, all right?" Emma said.

"Yep, see ya dad" and with a little wave he bounded out the door with Mr. Gold.

She turned to look at Neal, who had a look of surprise on his face. She was pretty sure she had the same face the first time Henry had referred to her as his mother. It was weird hearing that word from a kid, and it had to be weirder for him, given that he didn't know about Henry up until twenty minutes ago.

"Em, I'm sorry, I just, I don't know how to even begin to fix this"

"Just stop Neal, there isn't anything to fix. All I need from you, is your promise that if you plan on being his dad, that you be there for him, no matter how uncomfortable that makes you"

"Meaning?"

"That either you deal with the issues you have with your own father, or you can't see Henry. Because like it or not, Henry and I live in the same town as your father, and we aren't moving any time soon. So it's up to you to decide what you want to do"


	8. Chapter 8- Decisions

**Author's note: **Aww guys don't worry I wasn't trying to make you all feel bad with what I said. I just wanted to explain my reasoning for what I was doing and such. But yeah I know some characters just come off as irritating, and well I wish I could make Neal just forgive Rumple. (Given I love ever single effing character in the OUAT universe, except maybe Cora). So no worries, Rumple will be able to get his son to forgive him eventually. And about Henry calling Neal dad, it might have been just a slip of the tongue, or maybe not. You'll just have to read ahead and see why that appeared when it did. Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to review because I LOVE your opinions.

Chapter 8- Decisions

"Wait, you'd let me be a part of his life?"

"Of course, I wouldn't really let my son not have his father in his life" she said with an eye roll, "But you have to be aware that if you decide to stick around, you can't leave. I won't let you just walk in and out of his life"

She knew Regina would kill her if Neal ended up coming to Storybrooke, it had been one of the first things she had asked her about way back when she had first appeared in Henry's life. But it wasn't like she was going to keep Henry away from his father, and vice versa if it was what they both wanted. She wasn't selfish enough to do that, no matter how many unresolved issues she and Neal had.

"Okay"

"Okay?"

"Okay I promise I'll stay in his life, I won't run away"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, Emma I am not going to lose my son now that I know he exists. I don't plan on missing out on anymore of his life"

"Okay, but you do know that the chances of him leaving Storybrooke to come and visit you are basically none. Regina won't allow it"

"Regina?"

"His adoptive mother"

"Wait, our child was put up for adoption?"

"Yes Neal, I was eighteen and pregnant. Hell I had Henry in jail, how the hell was I supposed to be able to take care of my kid when I wouldn't even be out of jail until he was two months old, where was I supposed to send him?"

"But the money, that would have helped you"

"I know, it doesn't matter anymore. The point is I wanted to give him his best chance. I wanted what was best for him, and well I didn't know he'd end up getting adopted by Regina. Who even though we've had our differences, wasn't parent of the year material either"

"So, Henry has an adoptive mother. And who is she exactly?"

"Let's not go there right now, okay. Just know that if you want to spend time with Henry, you'll have to be the one who comes to Storybrooke. I'm not asking you to move there, or anything like that. But you'll just have to deal with going there, she might let him out if she trusts you"

"Okay"

"Okay" she repeated after him

Emma knew she sounded like an idiot, but she wasn't expecting any of this. She knew Henry would be thrilled that Neal would want to spend time with him, and get to know him, but Emma knew that they'd be dealing with Regina's wrath at one point or another. She just hoped that she'd have enough time to explain to Regina what had happened, and that maybe Gold could even end up lending a little help. What a screwed up family tree they had.

"Well, I guess that's it" she said, realizing that it was kind of awkward now.

"Em, can we just talk about what happened, the watches and just everything"

"Neal, look. I don't want to go there right now. I just, I need to process and just I need to focus on my kid. Nothing else. So let's just not. Okay?"

He looked disappointed, and he looked like he wanted to say something else but she gave him a look that said he really just needed to stop. One good thing about Neal was that he had always known when to stop, and that if he irritated her enough, she'd end up snapping at him. Sadly for him, it could end up with a slap to the face, and she was sure that he didn't want that again. She let out a breath and walked towards the door, wondering where on earth Gold had taken Henry for breakfast.

"So when are we leaving?" Neal asked.

"What?"

"When are we leaving?"

"Wait, you think you are coming with us?"

"I know I'm coming with you, I'm not going to be able to get to Storybrooke on my own. I don't have a car"

"But I mean you have a life here, a job I'm sure, and stuff" Emma said.

Hell when she had left Boston, she hadn't been planning on staying in Storybrooke so she hadn't bothered to pack clothes or anything like that. But he wanted to come with them, and he wasn't carrying around any luggage, and he had to have a job, and it wasn't like when had left. She got paid on commission she had no pending jobs, but it could be completely different for him.

"I do, but I can leave all of that. My job isn't the most stellar thing in the world, my apartment sucks, why would I stay here, if I can just go to Storybrooke with you guys?"

"Because you have no clothes, you have no money, just because the town was curse it doesn't mean that you don't have to you know pay for stuff, and change your clothes"

"Give me half an hour, I'll call my job and say that I'm taking a vacation, I'll bring all of my stuff, let me come with you"

"Neal"

He reached forward and grabbed her hands, his eyes were basically pleading her to let him come with them. He was willing to sit in a car with his father, for eight hours, just because he wanted to make sure he did make it to Storybrooke. She felt something tug at her heart and she tried to ignore it, this was not about them. This was about the fact that he wanted to know his son, and he wanted to come with them.

"Fine, you can come with us. But you are aware that you are going to be in a car with your father for eight hours, because we are going to Maine"

"I don't care"

"Okay, let me just at least help you pack because I know you aren't just want to bring clothes. Let me just call Gold and let him know where we are going, just so that he can keep Henry busy until we get back"

He nodded, not even really processing that she was going to call his father. She grabbed her phone, and dialed the number of Gold's cell phone, she let him know that Neal was coming with them and that she was going to help him grab a few things from his apartment. She just hoped traffic wasn't horrible, because there was no way she was driving her car to Neal's apartment. After Mr. Gold, obviously excited that his son was joining them, agreed to keep Henry a while longer, Emma looked at Neal.

"Okay, so let's get going, I think we are going to need a cab, I'm not driving to the center of Manhattan"

"That's fine, let's go"

Emma grabbed her bag, her coat along with the room key and she locked the door behind them. They walked towards the street, and luckily there were about a dozen cabs waiting so they managed to hail one. Luck was on their side, because traffic wasn't as horrendous as it had been the day before, it was probably given the early hour, and they got to Neal's place with good time. Emma followed him into the building, and then up to his actual floor because the elevator was broken. She was hesitant at the door, but she had promised she'd help him so she walked in, hoping he hadn't noticed that she had hesitated. But she found herself stopping when she spotted it. The dream catcher, the one they had found in that motel room all those years ago, he had kept it. He had been making small talk with her, and when she stopped responding, he looked towards where she was looking at it.

"You kept it" she said quietly.

"Of course I did, it was the only reminder I had of you"

"But why would you keep this?" she asked.

"It was to always help me remember, what I had"

She found herself getting kind of teary at that, but no she couldn't make this about them. She knew that she just had to focus on Henry, and just leave it at that. If she allowed herself to focus on all of the crap they had to go through, well it would only make things all the more complicated. So she just stood there, unsure of what to do. Neal was grabbing random things, clothes and little trinkets that he seemed to want to keep. As he did that, she found herself examining the apartment, it seemed so like him, there were so many things that just yelled Neal at her. Especially the Cleaners and Hatters sign that hung near the door. She turned towards the dream catcher again, only to find it gone.

"Where did.." she trailed off, when she saw that with the suitcase he was carrying he also had a box.

"These are the things are most important to me, everything else the landlord can just throw away. I'm ready" he said.

He was taking way less than what she had when she first got to Storybrooke, but that didn't surprise her. That was another thing she and Neal had shared during their time together, there were only a few things they truly treasured, and given that they had both gone through the system, they had learned to not have a lot.

"Okay, well I guess we can go" she said, as she turned on her heel and led him out of the door.


	9. Chapter 9- One last thing

**Authors note:** hey guys I am so sorry, my laptop is a spazz. The screen just SHUT OFF and so I had to plug it into a monitor, and well I've been doing that and so now for my laptop screen to turn on, it has to be permanently attached to a monitor. So yeah thanks to all of these nice issues I didn't get a chance to work on the next chapter, but here it is. I hope you all like it, and I can't tell you all how much your reviews mean to me. A special shout out to** reginamillz** who I know is not a Swanthief (I found out my shipper name) shipper, yet is still reading this fic. Thanks so much 3 and Thanks so much to all those of you who have followed this story and me, I am honored. So yeah I hope you like this chapter, don't forget to read and review 3

Chapter 9- One last thing

The ride back to the motel was quiet, she was still thinking about the dream catcher. She needed to just get over it, so he kept the dream catcher, she hadn't gotten rid of the car or the keychain she had gotten from him. He wasn't making a big deal over it, so why was she doing it? But still she said nothing as they reached the bottom floor and Neal hailed a cab. The drive back to the motel was sweet, and short which she was thankful for because that way she'd get to Henry faster. But of course that only meant the awkward eight hour car drive back to Storybrooke.

Henry and Mr. Gold were waiting for them outside the room, they had obviously just gotten back from breakfast. Henry immediately attacked her with a hug, for which she was grateful because it had been a very weird morning for her.

"You have a nice breakfast, kid?" she asked.

"Yes, it wasn't as good as Granny's but it was still good. We brought you some eggs and bacon and pancakes" Henry said as he gave her the to go container.

"Thanks kid, hey so Neal has something to tell you"

She nudged Neal who looked like he had seen a ghost, and she could sympathize with him because it was kind of amazing to realize that Henry was your kid because she used to have the same problems. Even now, knowing the kid, it still amazed her how great he was.

"Yeah?" Henry said as he approached Neal.

"Well your mom and I decided that I was going to visit you in Storybrooke for a little while. If that's okay with you?" Neal said.

"Of course it's okay with me" Henry said.

"Well I guess we should check out and head back to Storybrooke, or else we'll get there really late and you might not be able to see Regina"

Henry nodded as he grabbed the few things he had scattered around the room and started to stuff them in the backpack he carried. Emma placed the to go container on the table and began to do the same thing, but out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Mr. Gold had another to go container and it looked like he wanted to say something but wasn't really getting up the courage to do so. She threw a glance at Henry who was just finishing up grabbing his things from the bathroom, and then she saw Mr. Gold finally turn towards Neal. Emma pretended to be immersed in trying to find something under the bed, but really she was just listening to what they were saying.

"Miss Swan told me that you'd be coming with us, so I brought you something as well"

"Thanks"

"I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I got you one of everything"

"I appreciate it thanks"

She looked up to see Neal giving Gold a rather awkward pat on the back and she smiled to herself. Well that was something at least; at least Neal wasn't punching Gold in the face. Something she definitely would have expected him to want to do given how Neal had described his father all those years ago.

"All done!" Henry exclaimed as he came up to her, and she let out a small laugh.

"Well then I guess we are done" Emma replied as she stood up and grabbed her bag and her to go container.

"I will go check us out, and meet you by the car" Mr. Gold said as he limped away.

Emma shouldered her bag and she, Henry and Neal headed down the stairs towards the car. She didn't even think about the fact that Neal probably hadn't even noticed the bug there, but as Henry got into the back seat she could see that he wanted to say something, but he seemed to be at a loss for words.

"What?" Emma asked.

"You kept it" he said, though it sounded more like a statement.

"Kept what?"

He gave her a look that basically told her to cut the crap, and she let out a sigh She had been hoping that the fact that she was not really making a big deal over the car was obvious that it was just a car. At first she had only driven it because it was her only means of transportation, but then it just became this thing that she always had to have with her. If she talked to Archie, no doubt that he'd say that this was due to residual feelings she might have for Neal and that wasn't something Emma wanted to think about right now.

"It's just a car, Neal. Get your stuff in the trunk, get in and let's get going"

He followed the instructions and he got in the back seat with Henry, she was pretty sure that he was kind of cramped back there, but the only other way was that she'd end up back there and well she didn't trust Gold to drive and she didn't want Neal driving the car either. When Gold finally made it out of the car, Emma was about ready to go.

"Miss Swan you haven't eaten" Mr. Gold said.

"It's fine, I'm not all that hungry and I just want to get going"

With those words, she pulled the bug out into traffic with one passenger more than when they had arrived. This was going to be a very long drive home, and it probably would cause a lot of problems, but oh well sometimes life was about dealing with problems.


	10. Chapter 10- Returning home

**Authors Note: **Hey guys so no update from yesterday, Emma was being a little high maintenance (very long story) and I was suffering from weird i'm kind of dizzy moments so I decided not to keep going with the chapter. But anyway I'm back today, and again I'm crazy flattered by all of the reviews and of course by the follows and favorites. Thanks to all of those who are reading and I hope I don't disappoint. So yes, please read and review.

Chapter 10- Returning home

The drive back to Storybrooke was awkwardly quiet, Henry tried his best to make small talk but the tension in the car was really just too thick. After a little while, he fell asleep in the back seat, as he had on the ride to New York.

She watched from the rear view mirror as he somehow managed to land himself on Neal's shoulder, and Neal was just sitting so still because it looked like he didn't want to wake Henry up. She tried not to let that get to her as she kept driving, they just needed to get home and then everything would be fine. She couldn't help but feel like Neal was just burning his gaze on her the whole ride, as if he was trying to tell her something. Longest eight hours of her life, and they had only been on the road for two hours.

She only lasted another twenty minutes, that was when she just HAD to pull over because being in a car with Neal, with him in the back seat, it was just getting to her. She got out of the car, and she just started to pace, and she could feel the eyes of the two men in the car just following her.

"Get a grip, Emma. Get a grip" she kept on muttering to herself.

This was just the oddest situation of her life, she had gone on this stupid trip to find Gold's son, and stupid twisted fate made that son Neal. The only person she had ever fallen in love with, and he was connected to this other aspect of her life that was completely twisted. She could feel something making her feel constricted, and really how much was she going to get screwed over now? How was it possible that out of all the freaking people she could have met, and fallen in love with, it had to be Mr. Gold's son. She let out a few breaths, as she could tell that Neal wanted out of the car, but he didn't want to wake up Henry.

Henry. The one thing that made sense in her mess of a life. That's who she needed to focus on, and that's how it was supposed to be. She needed to get into that car, and just deal with the remaining five hours it would take them to return to Storybrooke.

She got back into the car, and she could feel that they all wanted to ask her what was going on but she just ignored them as she turned the car back on. Thankfully Henry was still fast asleep, probably from the fact he had gotten up pretty early and he had been up late the night before.

"No one says anything, unless it is about the weather or some sort of sport" she said as Mr. Gold opened his mouth to say something.

It seemed that whatever Gold had been planning to say had nothing to do with either of those topics so he closed his mouth again. With a satisfied smile, she merged back into moving traffic and kept driving. She knew they would have to stop at some point for food, but she wasn't worried because Henry was the only one who would be truly hungry. But he was fast asleep, so she kept driving until he woke up. They were nearing the Maine border, and it would only be about an hour or so until they got back home. While Henry had been sleeping, Neal had asked questions about the weather in Storybrooke, keeping true to Emma's terms, which Gold had answered and Emma was pretty sure that was as much bonding as the two were going to do this trip.

"Would you like to stop for a late lunch, Henry? Or just wait until we get home?" Emma asked.

"I'm okay, Mr. Gold let me get some snacks before we went back to the motel. So I can just wait until we get home"

"Well then, let's get home" Emma said as she kept down the familiar road.

It was weird because the last time she had made this trek, it had been to drop off Henry and then it had been her plan to return to Boston. But Storybrooke was her home now, and she was returning to it, and hopefully she wasn't leaving it anytime soon. Henry started to ask Neal questions then, mostly harmless ones about sports and things like that. She was pretty sure he'd save the probing questions for when they were alone.

Hearing their chatter helped her relax a little, and she threw a look at Gold who looked like he was asleep, but Emma could tell that he was listening to his son and to his grandson. Holy crap that was really weird. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally saw the sign, the one welcoming to Storybrooke and she felt like she could breathe a little better. She wasn't sure where she was driving them, so she decided to go with Gold's shop first, and probably Granny's so that Neal would have a place to stay.

"Okay so this is what it's looking like, Mr Gold I'll drop you off at your shop first, and then Neal, I'm dropping you off at the bed and breakfast. Then kid, you and I are going home so you can have a chat with your grandparents about why you left, and of course to get the homework you missed"

She made all of these sound like statements, not questions because she was not ready to even begin to deal with the idea that she had to let Regina know that Neal was in town, and to let Snow and Charming in on the fact that her son was Gold's grandson. She just needed a little time to process, and then she was going to tell everyone everything. When no one answered she kept down the road to Gold's shop, and when she pulled up to it, she saw that Belle was waiting for him.

"Seems like you have company" Emma commented.

"Thank you Miss Swan" Mr. Gold replied as he opened the door, and headed out to meet Belle who looked very worried.

Emma wanted to stay, but she knew that she needed to get Neal out of her car, and then just go home. So her next stop was Granny's, hopefully no one would be too curious as to what Neal was doing there, and if they were, he'd probably come up with something. Finally after she had dropped him off at the bed and breakfast after promising that she'd meet him for breakfast the next day, she drove home. It was getting dark and she was glad when she finally spotted the loft. She parked in her space, and then she and Henry made their way up the stairs.

"Emma!" she heard Snow exclaim as she felt herself being wrapped into a hug.

She had barely opened the door, and this was how she was greeted. Henry only smiled at his grandma who released Emma to hug him, and she could see Charming standing in the background. After Snow released Henry, he went over to hug his Grandfather, and then Emma walked inside as Snow closed the door.

"So how did it go?" asked Snow.

"Okay I guess" Emma asked.

"Did you guys find Mr. Gold's son?" Charming asked as Henry plopped down on the couch.

"Yeah we did" Emma said.

"Emma, sweetheart you are going to have to say more than three words. What happened?" Snow said.

Emma looked over at Henry who just gave his mother a shrug, making it obvious that her parents were not hearing the story from him. She took a breath, unsure of where to begin.

"It's kind of a long story, why don't we just have dinner, and I'll tell you after?" Emma asked.

Snow looked like she wanted to ask again, but Charming just gave her a gentle squeeze of shoulders and she relented. But then she turned her attention on Henry who had been watching the adults.

"And you young man, what were you thinking sneaking off with your mother, on a school day?"


	11. Chapter 11- Admitting the truth

**Authors note: **Hey guys, sorry I didn't update sooner, but I had a very hectic day. First of all, all these follows and faves, YOU ALL ROCK. I wouldn't want to write this without all of those follows and favorites. Anyway here's my update. I hope this isn't as much of a filler as the last chapter was. And I do hope that you guys enjoy it. Only 4 more episodes till we get to find out if Neal really is Bae or whatever. But I'm so excited, some spoilers are really looking good for swan thief guys. YAY Anyway I hope you like this chapter. Please read and review.

Chapter 11- Admitting the truth

After Henry received the telling off of a lifetime, Snow gave him all of the assignments he missed and as soon as dinner was finished, and Emma felt like she really just needed a drink. After making sure that Snow and Charming would take care of Henry, she went over to Granny's to get that drink she really needed. She walked in, and given the late hour most of the regular patrons were gone, and Emma took a seat at the bar, and Ruby walked over.

"Hey Emma, you are back" Ruby said with a smile.

"Yeah just got back a few hours ago" she said.

"You look like you need a drink" Ruby said.

"I need a whole bottle, honestly" she said with a laugh.

"That bad a trip, huh?"

"You have no idea" she said Ruby poured her some whiskey.

"Want to talk about it?" Ruby asked.

"No I'm good, just keep the drinks coming"

She didn't want to have to explain to the whole town that she had successfully managed to bring Gold's son, but he also was conveniently Henry's father. Hell if it wanted to give HER a headache, she didn't even want to think about what everyone else would be thinking. But what was done, was done, and there wasn't much she could do about it. She just needed to buck up, and deal with the fact that her son was related to Mr. Gold, and that Neal was in town. The bell rang, that annoying one that announced every time someone walked into the diner, after about her fourth drink. She didn't bother to turn around, she was too focused on her thoughts to really even look. Someone jumped on the stool right next to her,

"So how about that drink?" Neal said with a small smirk.

Emma turned towards him, really couldn't she get a break from having to see his face. She had been stuck in a car with him for eight hours, but now when she was just looking to have a drink, here he was.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Well this is the only place with food that was nearby, and the old lady at the desk said they serve the best food in town. And we didn't have breakfast or lunch, so I just came to grab a bite to eat" Neal responded, "But I had no idea they also served alcohol.

Thankfully Ruby came up, even though she was a bit suspicious of the individual she had never seen before, she threw Emma a look and Emma just nodded, basically telling her that this was definitely Gold's son.

"What can I get you?" she asked,

"I'll take a burger, the next drink she has is on me"

Ruby gave him a look as she wrote down his order, she made her way back to the kitchen to put in his order. She wasn't sure why, but she felt that there was something more that Emma was keeping about Gold's mysterious son. Unless he was a flirt and had just believed Emma to be attractive in their little road trip. She wanted to ask Emma, but of course the sheriff was giving off a look that said, " I do not want to talk" so Ruby stayed quiet.

"You are going to have to talk to me eventually" Neal pointed out.

"I'm no where nearly drunk enough to actually want to talk to you Neal. So just eat your damn food, and leave me alone" Emma said, she placed money on the counter for the drinks, "See you later Ruby"

Maybe getting drunk in her own home would be the better alternative, especially when you factored in that Neal was at the only decent place to get a drink in this whole town. She pushed open the door as Ruby called a goodbye, and the cold air hit her, sobering her up a little. She started walking towards the loft.

"Emma!" she heard, but ignored because she was not going to listen to him right now.

Wasn't he complaining that he hadn't had any food, and yet he was running after. This was just so freaking ridiculous. Deciding she just needed to get him to leave her around, she stopped and she turned around.

"What?" she asked as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"I just wanted to talk, to apologize again" He said quietly.

"Do you even know what you are apologizing for Neal? Are you aware of how much you fucked up my life with your decisions?" Emma asked.

"Yes, I know"

"I waited for you, after I got out of prison. I was so stupid, I waited for you in Tallahassee, for two years. TWO YEARS of my life were spent waiting for you to show up in Florida, I had this foolish hope that you would just show up there, and tell me that I ended up in prison as a mistake, that you didn't give me up. I LOVED YOU" she accused.

"I didn't know Emma, I was an idiot for believing him. I should have told him to go to hell, I should have stayed with you" He responded.

The look he was giving her, it was the look of someone who was truly sorry. But no, he had messed up her life so much, that she wasn't sure if she was ready to just forgive and forget. She just wanted to have the least amount of contact with Neal as humanly possible.

"Just forget it Neal, all right? Go back and eat your food, and we can just meet at Granny's tomorrow for breakfast because Henry wants to talk with you"

Those were her last words to him, as she stalked back towards the loft. She ended up walking around the block a few dozen times, getting the alcohol out of her system and just calming down. She had been so close to crying in front of Neal, hell she had wanted to cry, make him feel worse for what he did. But that was something she didn't even want to think about. Finally she decided to go back in, she unlocked the door and walked in to find both Snow and Charming sitting on the couch, as if they were waiting for her.

"Feel better?" Snow asked.

"What did Henry tell you?" Emma asked as she dropped herself on the couch opposite of them.

"That apparently Gold's son, is also his father?" Charming said.

"Crap" Emma said as she put her face in her hands.

"Did you have any idea that Neal was Gold's son?" Snow asked.

"Of course not, as of two days ago I didn't even think that I would see Neal ever again. You know that" she said as she looked over at her mother.

Emma had opened up to Snow, back when she was still Mary Margaret, about Neal, and that whole situation. So she was aware of every detail, obviously the fact that she was her mother made the fact that she knew every intimate detail made it a little embarrassing now, but she knew the truth. Charming still looked confused, but he wasn't sure if he should ask. After a few more seconds of silence, he decided to ask.

"What exactly did he do to you Emma?"

"I've told you before, that I wasn't the best person in the world when I was younger, I made a lot of mistakes, stupid mistakes. All my own so don't feel responsible, but I was young, and like I said, I was stupid" she said, "I fell in love, with Neal, and we were good together, sure it probably wasn't the best life, but I was happy"

Emma went on to explain how she and Neal used to be petty thieves, and that they lived in the bug. She told him about Tallahassee and how they were going to make a life there. By the time she got to the watches, and how that was the reason she ended up in jail, well she could tell that her father was about ready to go bust down Neal's door and beat the crap out of him.

"Charming sit down" Snow said as soon as Emma finished her story and Charming stood up.

"No, I need to go teach him a lesson" Charming said.

"No you don't, just sit down. Please. I'd really not want to have to arrest you for assaulting anyone, especially since you are my deputy" Emma said, trying to bring something light to the conversation.

"Okay so I won't go punch him in the face, but Emma how could he allow you to take the blame for something he did, you were a child for god's sake"

"I know but Henry wants to know him, and I honestly can't deny him the chance to get to know his father" Emma said.

Charming nodded, but he was already formulating a plan, the very next morning he was planning on paying a visit to this Neal Cassidy, and showing him how not okay it was that he had hurt his little girl. Even though Emma was a grown woman, he still felt the need to protect his daughter, and the man who had made her suffer needed to pay.


	12. Chapter 12- Confrontation

**Authors note:** I apologize if my last chapter didn't flow as well as usual, the later I stay up to work on these things, the less likely it'll make sense I guess. Though I am running on a coffee buzz right now so hopefully this chapter is better flow-wise. Also I've probably said this before (maybe not) but Gremma was one of my favorite ships before we were introduced to Swan thief. So I was wondering, who would be totally okay with my giving my bb Graham a little shout out at some point in this fic (because let's be honest the poor guy has not been mentioned in over a season) because I think I am going to. Anywhoo I know a lot of you are excited to see what Papa Charming will do, but you just have to wait and see.

Chapter 12- Confrontation

There was an alarm sounding, it was very irritating. Emma blinked as she realized it was HER alarm, and it was telling her she needed to get up. Henry's spot was empty as Emma pushed herself off the bed, she could hear sounds coming from downstairs and she could only guess that it meant there was going to be breakfast waiting for her. She put on some shoes, because she had no idea where the hell she had put her slippers.

She hadn't had enough to drink to get a hangover, which was good because she had to go to the station today. She had promised Charming the day off, since he took over for two days while she had been on her little expedition with Gold. To find Neal. Oh god it was too early to think about that, she needed food and coffee in her system before she even attempted to go down that path. The talk with her parents had helped the night before, though she could see it written all over her father's face, he wanted to kill Neal.

The one person she wanted to talk to right now was August, because he too had a lot to explain. But given that no one had seen the puppet in weeks, she was wondering just where the hell he had gone. After all he had gotten that postcard to Neal, so that meant he was alive, somewhere. Still she pushed all of those thoughts away as she walked down the stairs to see her parents making breakfast and Henry was bouncing up and down on his seat.

"Morning" she called out to them as she padded over to the kitchen to grab a cup for her coffee when she looked over at her son, "What's with you kid? I'm surprised you aren't at the stables."

"Breakfast today? At Granny's, Grandma mentioned you asked him if he'd meet us and he said yes?" Henry said.

Crap, she had forgotten about the breakfast at Granny's and the kid had to get to school soon.

"Kid you should have woken me, I completely forgot we were doing that today, and you have to get to school" Emma said.

Henry looked disappointed, and she felt stupid for forgetting herself given that she had been the one to suggest it in the first place. The worst mother of the year award went to Emma Swan, wohoo. Still maybe she could fix this, after all she knew that Henry wanted to get to know his father, even if she wished there was at least an ocean between them.

"How about this? I go down to Granny's and ask Neal to reschedule and then we can have dinner with him? That way we won't have to worry about me forgetting and not setting an alarm?" She asked.

He nodded as Snow started to serve him breakfast, she felt horrible because she had forgotten. Deciding that she should probably go right now, even though she wanted to shower, she walked over to Henry and kissed him on the head.

"Be good in school kid, I'll see you later. And I'll send your grandma a text to let you know what Neal says about rescheduling" she said.

She headed to the bathroom for a quick minute to was her face and at least make sure she looked somewhat presentable to venture outside. After all she couldn't really shower since she had to make sure she got to Neal before he just sat there alone for the rest of the morning. She quickly washed her face, and retired her hair, and when she deemed herself at least somewhat presentable she grabbed her keys and jacket and made her way outside.

People were doing their daily things and some people waved and said hello as she made her way to Granny's. It was packed, as it usually was, but she saw Neal sitting in a booth near the corner and she walked over to him. She could see he was happy, but when he realized that Henry wasn't with her, he looked a bit disappointed.

"Hey I'm sorry, my alarm this morning I set it incorrectly so I woke up too late to bring Henry before he had to get to school" she apologized, "But if you are still up for it, we could meet here for dinner?"

"No it's fine, I get it. The kid can't miss school" Neal responded, but Emma could hear the disappointment in his voice and there was a really mean part of her brain that was gaining satisfaction from it, but overall she just felt bad for him.

"I'm really sorry Neal, I didn't do this on purpose I swear. Hell I even left the house before I ate to make sure you didn't think we just stood you up" she said, she left out the part that she technically wasn't even ready to go to work yet.

"Well if you haven't eaten, why don't you just sit and eat with me?" Neal asked.

Emma looked down at him but she shook her head, "No that would be a bad idea, this was supposed to be about you getting to know Henry, not a date"

"No I didn't mean a date Emma, I just meant as friends, I mean we have to get along if I'm going to be a part of Henry's life" Neal amended.

He had a point, but she didn't feel ready enough to sit there and have a friendly breakfast with him. What she had told him the night before, everything was still too fresh, she wasn't ready. She shook her head, knowing that it was not happening.

"No Neal, I'm sorry. I'll see you at dinner"

Luckily the diner was busy enough that no one had noticed her entrance or her departure as she headed back to the loft. She needed to shower, grab something to eat and head to the station for the afternoon. When she arrived at the loft, Snow was gone and Charming was doing the dishes as Emma plopped down on the couch and closed her eyes, she just needed a minute.

"So how did it go?" Charming asked.

"He said it was fine, and then he asked me to have breakfast with him"

There was silence, and she opened her eyes to see Charming frozen. What had gotten into him?

"What?" She asked him as she stood up.

"Nothing" he responded, though it was rather curt, which confused her because he had never used that tone with her before.

"Okay" she said slowly, deciding to not even go there with him, she was in desperate need of a shower, "Well I'm going to shower and get ready for work, so I'll see you in a bit"

She walked upstairs to grab some clothes, and he was still doing the dishes when she went into the bathroom. As soon as she shut the door and turned on the shower, she lost the ability to hear anything that went on outside, so there was no way for her to know that her father had left the building.

Charming had decided he needed to have a chat with Neal Cassidy, and as soon as Emma shut he bathroom door he bolted himself, knowing that she wouldn't hear him leave. He was probably still at Granny's, how dare he try to get his daughter to eat breakfast with him. He was not worthy of his daughter, and he had hurt her enough in the past, and he had to make sure that he wouldn't hurt his grandson. Albeit Henry was Cassidy's son, but still they needed to get some facts straight. He walked into Granny's ignoring the greetings as he finally spotted the only person he could not easily identify, that had to be him.

"Neal Cassidy?" He asked as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Yeah?" he responded.

"I'm James, Emma's father" Charming responded.

He could see his eyes widen, as he took in the severity of what was about to happen. Charming was sure that he had not been expecting a visit from Emma's father.

"What can I do you for?" Neal asked.

"We need to talk, about what you did to my daughter. And about how you are not going to continue to hurt her, or my grandson" He stated simply.

"I never meant to hurt Emma, I've told her that multiple times, and Henry is my son, I just want to get to know him" Neal said as he rose his hands, in an attempt to convey that he was not here to hurt anyone.

"Well the fact that you never meant to hurt her, yet you did, is the problem here, Mr. Cassidy. I need to convey to you are to stay as far away from my daughter as humanly possible. The only time you are allowed to be anywhere near her is when my grandson wishes it so. She does not need someone like you in her life" Charming said, anger coloring his tone.

"I think Emma is a big girl, and can take care of herself. No offense"

Charming lost it then, he leaned forward to grab the man by the shirt and pulled him out of the booth.

"I don't care how old she is, you will not hurt her again. Do you understand me? Or do I need to throw you in a jail cell until you understand?" His voice threatening.

Neal looked visibly panicked, this was definitely not the way he had pictured his morning. He hadn't been able to have breakfast with his kid, Emma hadn't wanted to join him either, and now he was being threatened by a freaking fairy tale character. Okay he was Emma's father who probably knew the whole story, but still he was Prince Charming.

"I understand" He said with a nod, as Charming released him.

"Good, have a nice day, Mr. Cassidy" Charming said as he turned around and walked back out of the diner leaving a rather surprised group of people behind.

Neal tried to act relaxed, but he knew that there was no way that this guy was going to let him anywhere near Emma until she forgave him completely. Which meant that he had a lot of work ahead of him, it was a good thing that his visit wasn't going to be a short thing.


	13. Chapter 13- Helping Out

**Author's note: **Well I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter, I had Neal react that way, just because having someone's father, no matter who he is, has to be intimidating to anyone. Especially to someone who doesn't wish to reside in a jail cell (albeit Emma might not keep him in there, but eh) Anywhoo we'll see if Emma finds out what Papa Charming did, and his thoughts on it. And you might recognize a small shout out to someone who is very near and dear to my heart in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it, it is kind of a filler(My mood is kind of off so it might be reflect in the chapter, or it might not) Please read and review 3

Chapter 13- Helping out

Emma walked out of the bathroom to find that Charming was still doing the dishes. Well that was certainly taking him longer than expected. She walked over to the island, she had missed breakfast so she would just eat some cereal and leave for work.

"I'm surprised you aren't done yet" she commented as she poured herself some cereal.

"Oh I had to stop for a couple of minutes, I remembered that there were a few things Snow wanted me to take to the dry cleaners" Charming replied.

He was lying, she could tell, but she chose not to comment on it. He had probably taken a break because doing dishes was a real pain, and he probably didn't enjoy the chore as much as he did when Snow was helping him. She poured her milk and watched him as she scrubbed a particular pan like it had done him some great offense.

"You okay there?" She asked as she took a bit of her cereal.

"Yeah, just trying to scrub the grease off the pan" He responded.

She threw him a look, he was never that focused on the dishes not in the weeks that they had been living here anyway. But she decided not to comment just because she had a feeling that there was something else bothering him and as much as she wanted to help him, she also had to get to work. She had promised him time off, and that's what she was going to give him. So she ate the last bits of her cereal and she was going to wash the bowl herself.

"I'll do it, you go to work" Charming said with a smile.

"Thanks, I'll see you later" she said as she walked back to grab her coat, and her keys so that she could drive to the station.

It was a short drive, and everything was turned off as she unlocked the station. Luckily there were no calls, or else they would have been redirected to her phone, so that meant she would just continue on with the pile of paper work on her desk. She turned on all of the lights, and then she made her way into her office, and she started on the pile of paperwork. She was twirling the pen in her hand, trying to figure out how to label this particular file when she heard a voice that made her jump.

"Cool jacket" Neal said.

Emma looked up from the file to see Neal standing in her office, and she was touching Graham's jacket. She felt something pull at her heart, he couldn't touch that jacket. No one was supposed to touch that jacket, it was Graham's jacket, no one could touch it.

"Don't touch it!" she snapped.

"Woah, it's just a jacket Em, and it looks way too big for you" Neal said with a laugh as he stepped away.

"It's not mine" she said as she stood up.

"Oh is it your boyfriend's?" Neal asked.

Emma's throat closed up, she was taken back to the night Graham died. Would he be her boyfriend if that hadn't of happened? The only man who almost broken down her walls, no this was not the time to be focusing on that right now.

"No it belonged to Graham, he used to be the sheriff" Emma said simply.

"Used to be, did he quit or something?" Neal asked.

"No" she said quietly, looking down for a second, "He died"

Neal looked taken aback, all earlier jokes seemed to have disappeared from his face as Emma said that Graham had died. She ushered him out of the office, they did not need to talk about Graham in his former office. She did not need to think about the fact that he was the reason she was here, the reason she was now the sheriff because he had made her his deputy.

"What do you need Neal?" Emma asked.

"Just wanted to tell you that you have a very tough dad" He said as he leaned on the spare desk, his arms crossed.

"I'm sorry, what?" Emma asked.

"Your father, he came and threatened me in the diner this morning. Apparently I'm supposed to stay away from you, or he'll arrest me" Neal commented.

"Good to know you know how to listen to directions" Emma commented with an eye roll, though she was irritated that Charming thought that he needed to tell Neal to stay away from her.

"Is that why you came? To tattle on my father?" She continued.

"No I just wanted to tell you that your father is somewhat intimidating, and I am aware of the fact that he probably has a sword stashed somewhere. But I do want him to know that I'm not here to hurt you or anything like that" Neal answered.

"Noted, is that it?" Emma asked, "Unlike you, some of us have a job to do"

"Oh you looked riveted with the paperwork you were working on" Neal replied, "Do you need some help? I'm pretty good at filing things"

"Yes, let an ex con man file the criminal reports of Storybrooke. That sounds like a very good idea"

"Hey, need I remind you, you helped me rob convenience stores. Yet you are the sheriff of this town" Neal argued.

Emma rolled her eyes, "Fine, but do know that if Charming walks in, he will most likely throw you in a jail cell"

"Noted" Neal responded, "So what do you need filed?"

"All of the files on the empty desk, they need to be put in the file cabinet right here, it's alphabetized by the last name on the report. If you have any questions, just ask"

Neal nodded as Emma spoke and he walked over to the files, it was weird having him there but she knew that he was probably bored out his brain. She could remember feeling that way the first few days she had been in Storybrooke, well in between getting arrested and finding a pregnant girl for Gold. She just hoped that when Charming came in, it didn't lead to a brawl, though she hoped that he did walk in, so that she could yell at him for talking to Neal. She was a big girl, she could take care of herself and she didn't need him playing the overprotective father role.


	14. Chapter 14- Fatherson bonding

**Author's note: **Oh my god, I have over 100 followers for this story now? That's amazing and I AM SO HONORED. I do apologize about the lack of updates, I think this week's once just managed to KILL me, and I was just like woah. Especially with Gold and the whole threatening thing I was all, WELL I DID THAT WRONG. But alas I wrote it way before we even got our scene, so I guess I just took a creative license. Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this chapter (and my Graham shout outs 3). Read and Review 3

Chapter 14- Father/Son bonding

It was nearing lunch time, and she was just about to head out to lunch when Charming stepped through the doors. Immediately he noticed Neal's presence as he walked in and he visibly stiffened. Emma stood up, walking towards him, before he attempted to pull his protective father act.

"What's he doing here?" Charming asked.

"He's helping me out with the filing; we have so much paperwork on that empty desk that I decided to at least make him do something useful" Emma said with a shrug.

"I told him to.." he trailed off realizing he had just outed himself.

"I told you that I didn't need you to talk to anyone, I'm very capable of handling Neal all on my own" she said as she crossed her arms across her chest, giving her father a look.

"I know, I'm sorry. But he _hurt_ you Emma, that's not something that he can just get away with some repercussions" Charming said.

"Okay, but let me handle it all right? I appreciate that you want to look out for me, but I'm a grown woman, and I can handle my personal business on my own. Okay?" She said.

Charming nodded, and Emma frowned deciding to give him a hug she had appreciated that he wanted to look out for her. But much like she had told Snow before, she was used to handling things on her own, especially things like guys.

"Now didn't I say you could just take the day off? I think you said you were going to go check on the dwarves or something?" Emma said as she let go of him.

"I just wanted to let you know that Snow said she'd be staying late at school today, and so I was just planning on taking dinner to her, so you two didn't have to worry about us" Charming said.

Emma nodded, she and Henry were supposed to have dinner with Neal anyway so Charming and Snow having dinner together would be good. She ushered Charming out finally and she went back to her desk to continue on with the files. She worked through lunch, given the late breakfast she had, and by the time it was getting time to go pick Henry up from school she was about ready to call it a day. Neal had been quiet for hours and she looked out into the outer office to see that he was still hard at work alphabetizing the files, she shook her head, he really must have been bored.

"Hey, uh Neal?" She said, feeling a bit awkward.

He put down the file that he had in his hand and walked into her office, "Yeah?"

"Do you want to come with me, to go pick up Henry? We can have an early dinner if you want, and then you guys can do stuff?"

"You'd let me have him for a while?" Neal asked.

"No, I'd let you two hang out here in the office so I can keep an eye on you. But you'd be able to talk, I'd just be in here doing more paperwork"

She wasn't sure she trusted him with Henry yet, after all Neal had that flight risk potential and it wasn't something she wanted around her kid. After all Henry had dealt with that personality when she had first gotten here, and she didn't need another repeat for him. He looked like he wanted to complain, but she gave him a look said that this wasn't up for negotiation and that was it. Plus there was the whole, Regina issue that had to be addressed but she'd focus on that later.

"Okay that sounds fair" he said.

"All right well let's go" she said as she grabbed the on call phone and she headed out the door.

Neal trailed after her, neither of them spoke, she knew that they had to get over this at some point but she was still so mad at him. She also wanted to talk to August, he deserved a punch to the face too, taking the money that Neal had meant to be hers. It was thankfully a rather short walk from the station to the bus stop and they arrived right on time because Henry was just getting off the bus and he ran to Emma and gave her a hug.

"Hi mom" Henry said with a smile.

"Hey kid, have a good day at school?" she asked.

He nodded, and then he waved at Neal, "Hi Neal"

"Hey kid" Neal said as he gave him a rather awkward wave.

"Okay so I was talking to Neal and we decided to go grab an early dinner and then you guys can hang out at the station while I finish up my work. Does that sound good to you?" Emma asked.

Henry nodded as they made their way to dinner, where Henry spent a large amount of time grilling Neal on what his life had been like, while Emma sat there and picked at her food. She decided to take it to go, since she had lost her appetite. Henry was excited about getting to spend time with Neal, and they headed back to the station. When they got to the station, Emma went into her office and Neal and Henry went to sit by Charming's desk.

"Hey Henry, can I ask you something?" Neal asked.

"Sure, what?" Henry asked.

"The sheriff, the one who came before Emma. What happened to him?" Neal asked.

"He died, why?" Henry asked.

"Your mom, said that the jacket hanging in the office was his. She got kind of upset when I touched it" Neal said.

"Graham and my mom, they had a special relationship, and she blames herself for his death" Henry said.

"Special relationship?"

"Oh when he kissed my mom, he got his memories back of who he was from the Enchanted forest" Henry said.

"Oh", so that's why she was so protective of the jacket, the guy had been her boyfriend, and he had died, "So did they date then?"

"No, he died the day after he kissed her. I've heard her sometimes, apologizing to him when we go visit him at his grave and she thinks I went too far ahead to hear her" Henry said quietly.

"So you guys visit him?" Neal asked.

"Yeah once a week, every Thursday night" Henry said, "But please don't tell her I told you, it's our secret"

"I promise kid" Neal said, wondering if maybe he had to pay a visit to this guy. After all he seemed to have been the only person to break through Emma's walls, the ones that he was responsible for putting there.

"You still love my mom, don't you?" Henry asked.

"What makes you say that?"

"The way you look at her, it's the way Gramps looks at Grams" Henry said.

"Would it be bad if I said yes?" Neal asked, he knew the kid wanted to get to know him, but he wasn't sure if he wanted him anywhere near Emma.

"Of course, people who love each other should be together" Henry said with a smile.

"Yes, I love her. I tried to lose myself after what I did to her, but it didn't work. So I decided to clean up my act, in hopes that when she broke the curse, that I could be the man she deserves, the man I couldn't be when I left her" Neal said with a sigh.

"Well then you have to try" Henry said, "But I hope that you know that my mom won't make it easy. There was a reason she told me you were dead"

"Yeah I know kid, and she's in her complete right to hate me" Neal said, "But I'm hoping I can get her to change her mind about me, like you did?"

"I never hated you" Henry stated simply, "I know that adults sometimes make decisions that aren't the smartest, but they think it is. You made a decision like that, but you want to fix it, so I can't really hate you for that.

Neal blinked, really how on earth was his son so understanding, and how was it that he held no resentment towards him. After all most kids would have hated him for abandoning them, for landing his mother in jail, and therefore ensuring he'd end up being adopted. But he was forgiving him, and that made him feel good inside. And maybe, if his son could forgive him, he could forgive his father.


	15. Chapter 15- Making Progress

**Authors Note:** So I suck I know guys I am SO sorry but life got the best of me. School, and then my laptop died :( so I didn't have that, and I got a new one, but of course I had to get my online back up to give me back my stuff and that took a while, and I didn't want to have to rewrite the first half of my chapter, so I had to wait for that to finally work and it did, and here we are. I even found some time today after all that work I put into for my lesson plan, and this is what you get. Courtesy of my super swan thief feelz and (Manhattan airs next week WOO) I hope that you like this chapter and don't find it rushed. Though this is AU now since you know, we saw how Gold asked for Emma to cash in the favor, and then the tiny sneak peaks, anywhoo enjoy. Read and Review!

**Chapter 15- Making progress**

Emma rubbed at her tired eyes, she could hear Neal and Henry talking but she had no idea what about. She was giving up on paper work.

"Hey I'm done for the night with paper work" she said as she watched Neal and Henry.

When they were sitting there, you could really see the similarities between them. Henry had gotten a lot of his looks from Neal, and seeing them like that, it only made thoughts hit her like a truck. Henry had some of her in him, but he resembled Neal the most in both appearance and in actions sometimes. It used to unnerve her at first, the constant reminders of his father just in the smallest of actions, but over time she came to accept them, and loved his quirks.

"So we can go home now?" Henry asked as he looked over at her.

"Yeah your Gramps is on his way to take the night shift, so as soon as he gets here we can go" Emma said.

"Can we stop for ice cream before we go home?" Henry asked.

:Sure" she said with a smile.

"Well I guess I should be heading out before your dad gets here, I'll see you tomorrow?" Neal said, though the second part came out like a question.

Emma could sense the reluctance in him, he didn't want to leave, he was afraid that he wouldn't see her the next day. That of course pulled at her heart strings, especially because there was that small irrational part of her brain that wanted to keep him around. Obviously she was justifying it because Henry wanted to spend time with his father, and obviously Neal wanted to spend more time with Henry.

"Hey, why don't you come with us to get ice cream?" she asked.

Neal looked surprised and Emma saw him throw a look at Henry who looked ecstatic at the idea of spending more time with his father, "Sure that would be great"

"Good" Emma said as she tried to give him a reassuring smile.

Henry threw her a smile as he started to stand up, and it was then that Charming walked in. He wore a funny expression, but he didn't say anything as he hung up his jacket.

"Paperwork is on your desk, I have my phone on in case you need me for anything important, and the keys to the cruiser are on my desk" Emma said as she looked at Charming.

"All right I'll see you in the morning, Henry bright and early at the stables for your lessons" Charming said as he looked at Henry.

Henry nodded as he looked over at Neal, "Oh so I have a horse, I haven't ridden him yet, mom said that maybe if I hadn't gone to Manhattan with her and Mr. Gold I might have gotten to ride him, but I don't think that's true"

Emma shook her head as she ushered Henry towards the door, waving at Charming one last time before they finally made their way out the door. She could tell that Neal was avoiding eye contact with Charming, it was probably thanks to their earlier conversation. As Henry went ahead, she looked over at Neal.

"He was just trying to be an overprotective father" Emma said as she looked over at him.

Neal looked over at her, "Yeah I get it, I mean I hurt you, he's your dad, it makes sense. I just don't want to give him another reason to hate me, so I'm just avoiding all eye contact"

Emma wondered just why Neal didn't complain or argue over the fact that basically everyone in this town disliked him for what he had done to her. Or what he had done, while trying to be selfless. She got it, he hadn't meant to hurt her, it had just been the facts of her life that she needed to become the person she was today to break the curse.

"He won't threaten you anymore, I talked to him. I'm a big girl I can handle you myself" she used that opportunity to walk faster and catch up to Henry.

Neal just stared at her, after getting to spend time with his son, and being around Emma all day, it really did make him realize that he needed to make things right with them. He still loved Emma, and he was going to fight for her, but honestly he wanted to fight for his kid too. He caught up to the two, and they headed for ice cream. After they had their ice cream, Emma and Henry started to head home, when Neal stopped them.

"Mind if I walk you?" he asked.

Emma looked down at Henry who looked excited at the possibility, so she decided to agree. She nodded and with a smile Neal walked over and they made their way towards the apartment, Emma leading the way because Neal had never been. They kept polite chit chat as the topic of conversation, neither adult wanted to say what was really on their mind and Henry was just happy because of the sugar rush and because he had his parents with him. When they got to the apartment, Henry gave Neal a hug and rushed inside, leaving Emma and Neal alone.

"Thanks for today Em, letting me help you, and spend time with the kid even though I know you don't trust me with him yet" Neal said.

"He enjoyed it, he wants you around Neal,so I just have to deal with it. And you did a decent job with the filing, if you need extra cash, I have money in the budget to hire you on" it felt weird, offering her ex a job, but hell that way she wouldn't have to do the filing anymore.

"Sure, I can do that" Neal said with his trademark smile.

Emma found herself smiling back at him, and she was momentarily transported to the first time she had seen that smile on him. It had been right after she had stolen the bug, and he popped up from the back seat, that had been eleven years ago, yet his smile remained the same.

"Well okay I'll see you in the morning, work starts at eight sharp" she said as she turned towards the door.

She wasn't aware of what was happening, one second she felt him take hold of her hand, and pull her towards him, and the next he had pressed his lips to her own. Normally this would have resulted in her pulling away and slapping him, but it had been so long, and it was Neal, and the sense of familiarity that struck her, it didn't allow her to pull away. If anything, it made her wrap her arms around his neck and pull herself closer to him, something he seemed to appreciate because he took it as an invitation to deepen the kiss. But that's when her mind registered what she was doing and she broke away, appalled at what she had done.

"Em" he said.

"No, I need to go inside, I'll see you in the morning" Emma said, as she walked towards the door and into the apartment building.

When she opened up the front door she saw Henry sitting down on the couch reading his book, while Snow was standing near the window, the very window that could see down into the front of the building where she and Neal had just been kissing. Snow gave her a look, and Emma looked over at Henry, "Hey kid why don't you go take your bath now, so you can get a good night's sleep for your riding lesson?" she asked.

Henry looked over at her, closing his book, he was a smart kid so he just nodded knowing that Emma and Snow probably wanted to talk. Emma waited until he had stalked upstairs for his clothes and then all the way back down to the bathroom so he could take a shower. As soon as the bathroom door closed Emma looked over at Snow.

"I know, I know" she said with a sigh as she settled down on the island to talk with Snow.

"You still have feelings for him" Snow stated.

"No, I don't" Emma replied.

"Emma, I know what I saw, he kissed you, and instead of pulling away like someone who hates their ex would do, you kissed him back" Snow said.

"I can't, I just can't let myself go through this with him again. He hurt me, he broke my heart, and if I allow myself to go down that path again, I'm afraid there will be no coming back next time" Emma said quietly.

Snow looked at her daughter, she knew love when she saw it, and Emma still loved Neal. That much was obvious to her, even though Neal had obviously made mistakes, and needed to pay for them, he might also be the key to her daughter's happiness which meant that she could grow to forgive him for what he had done, but as of right now he was still enemy number one to Snow.

"Okay Emma, you just need to sleep on it, so take the night to just think it over. If in the morning, you do not regret the fact that you kissed him back, then work from there. But as much as I hate to admit this to you, I think there is something there still, and you two need to figure out what it is" Snow said as she looked at her daughter.


	16. authors note

**I have not touched this fic in months I think the complete different turn that the season took definitely left me kind of museless. Would anyone be interested in me continuing this? Or would it be better to start something fresh. I have three in the works so far, not sure which one I'd do next I have an AU one where Neal never left Emma. I have one where Neal never fell into the portal, and I have one (this one has not been started yet it's just an idea) that's post S2 (this one is the hardest one since I might lose interest again once the season starts XD) so yes just let me know.**


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